Friday, January 9, 2015

Modi throws open doors to people of Indian origin around the globe

Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi appealed to people of Indian origin to turn to their homeland in
a bid to lure overseas talent.

Prime Minister Narendra
Modi today appealed to millions of people of Indian origin across the world to
turn to their homeland after he eased visa rules to lure overseas talent, in a
bid to make the country a top power.

India has the world's
second largest diaspora after China, with more than 25 million people settling
overseas since colonial times, from Guyana in South America to Singapore in
East Asia.

Modi's desire to harness
the group's skills and resources is bolstered by his Hindu nationalist leanings
towards reasserting India's position as a global leader with a unique
civilisation stretching back thousands of years.

"There was a time
when professionals in India went to distant lands to explore new
possibilities," Modi told an annual gathering for people of Indian origin
in the western state of Gujarat. "Now India awaits you with
opportunities."

The diaspora event was
timed immediately prior to a large investment meeting that will be addressed by
US Secretary of State John Kerry and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

Yesterday, President
Pranab Mukherjee approved an executive order to ease the way for those whose
families left India as many as four generations ago, as well as their spouses,
to get lifetime visas and own property in India.

Modi's pitch has a harder
economic aspect too, as the diaspora holds investments of more than US$100
billion (RM357 billion) in India.

Young, foreign-educated
Indians came back in droves at the turn of the millennium and poured in funds
as the economy took off with a roar, but the flow has dried up as growth
sputtered in the past few years. Modi is keen to reverse that trend.

Officials said they are
also assisting citizenship efforts by those whose ancestors left India
centuries ago, shipped by British rulers to distant corners of the globe as
indentured labourers.

Last year, overseas
Indians greeted Modi with a rockstar welcome and stadium rallies on his state
visits to the United States and Australia.

The energetic leader's
popularity has already won over some high-profile individuals, including Arvind
Panagariya and Arvind Subramanian, two of the world's top economists, who
recently joined his government after long careers in the United States.

The diaspora meeting was
attended by Guyana's President Donald Ramotar, and also sought to tap into the
French-speaking Indian diaspora from island nations such as Mauritius. –
Reuters, January 8, 2015. –